The Long Phone of Man: Amehiko Aoki and Masculinities of the 1970s

The Long Phone of Man: Amehiko Aoki and Masculinities of the 1970s

Against the backdrop of postwar Japanese popular culture, Amehiko Aoki was known as an essayist who depicted trivial scenes of daily life and human psychology with a light touch. In his book "Otoko no nagahone" (A Man's Long Telephone Call), he depicts how men, too, can express their innermost anxieties and complaints through the medium of the telephone, in contrast to the stereotype of the time, when "long telephone calls" were generally regarded as feminine. The scene of a man confiding "a secret that can't be said out loud" over the phone was a symbolic representation of the male psyche in the 1970s.

At that time, Japanese society had entered a period of stable growth after a period of rapid economic growth, and urban life had taken root. While the figure of the salaryman working as a corporate warrior was considered an ideal image, the loneliness and conflicts he faced at home and at work were increasing. Men who had no choice but to play the role of a strong man in public, but who showed their weakness only in the "semi-anonymous, one-on-one space" of the telephone, reflected the suffocating atmosphere of the times.

The 1970s was a time of rapid progress in the use of telephones. Black phones permeated homes, and late-night conversations with friends and lovers became a social phenomenon known as "long-distance calls. Aoki's essay, which depicts this custom, traditionally considered a symbol of femininity, from a male perspective, is also an attempt to open up a window on gender roles. With humor and empathy, Aoki depicted men who were bound by the norms of masculinity, but who sought a place where they could express their true feelings.

Otoko no nagahone" was a work that depicted, with laughter, the awkward feelings of men and the strains of modern life. It is also a small mirror reflecting the urban life and gender consciousness of the 1970s, and is a book that conveys the keen eye of Aoki Amehiko.

--What emerges through this work is the image of Japanese men of the time, wavering between strength and weakness.